Epperson: Diversify your portfolio!

TODAY Money financial expert Sharon Epperson joined us for a live Web chat Wednesday to answer your questions.

Here’s one of her answers to questions from the live chat. (See below for the full Q&A and video of Sharon’s TV appearance this morning.)

Shawn asked:

"Hi Sharon. What do you think of gold as an investment for the common person. I've watched you for years reporting on CNBC report on the commodities market and I was curious if you thought the average person should invest in precious metals. Thanks!"

Sharon replied:

“I enjoy reporting about gold and commodities every day for CNBC and I do believe it is important to have a diverse mix of stocks, bonds and alternative assets in one's portfolio. Gold can be a part of that alternative mix -- say 5-10-% of your portfolio. A great way to get into gold, as you've heard me mention on the air, is an exchange-traded fund like the GLD or IAU. I also think you can get exposure to gold in some large cap mutual funds that invest in gold mining stocks. See more ways to invest in gold here.”